- February 12, 2025
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The Special Weapons And Tactics team at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office will soon have safer weapons that are much simpler to clean, thanks to a $10,390 allocation from the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners, approved May 21.
Lt. Greg Weston, who oversees training for the Sheriff’s Office, said the 4-year-old M16 A3 machine guns used by the SWAT team for training will have the upper receivers replaced. Each piece is about $800 and uses pistons rather than a gas impingement system. That makes the weapons more reliable and cuts cleaning time from 90 minutes to about 10 minutes, Weston said.
He recommended that the agency buy just the upper receiver, rather than a whole new gun, because it cuts the cost in half. “I’m frugal when it goes to spending money,” Weston said. “You have to be responsible.”
Conversely, Putnam County recently bought new firearms. About a year ago, an officer there was killed in a case that involved a weapons malfunction. Weston emphasized the importance of having reliable weapons. “Naysayers might say, ‘You don’t need this,’” said Weston, a 21-year resident of Flagler County. “But when the time comes that we do use it and lives are in danger, it’s nice to have it.”
— Mike Cavaliere contributed.
